King James Bible Study – [Mark 8:34 And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.]
Date: Monday, February 27, 2023
Chapters: NUMBERS 8-10
Study: Follow The Cloud
Hello My Brother/Sister/Friend,
Well, it is official, my betrothed and I are engaged and will get married this New Years Eve. I do not have to tell you that my mind is a little bit everywhere right now, and I never thought that I would be making wedding plans even though I always had a date set if I ever did. I suppose you could say that the hope was there, but the vision was kind of cloudy. I do not know why, but this passage comes to mind, [Mark 8:22-25 And he cometh to Bethsaida; and they bring a blind man unto him, and besought him to touch him. 23 And he took the blind man by the hand, and led him out of the town; and when he had spit on his eyes, and put his hands upon him, he asked him if he saw ought. 24 And he looked up, and said, I see men as trees, walking. 25 After that he put his hands again upon his eyes, and made him look up: and he was restored, and saw every man clearly.]
You know, when we first come to know of Jesus our eyes are kind of cloudy. Perhaps you were as I was, and grew up in a religion that was good about reenacting the birth, death, and resurrection of Jesus, but not so good at telling us that salvation is by grace through Him. However, once Jesus lays His hands upon our eyes, we not only see Him as clear as the day, we also see who we are, sinners who Him like there is no tomorrow, [1 Timothy 1:14-16 And the grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant with faith and love which is in Christ Jesus. 15 This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief. 16 Howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might shew forth all longsuffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting.]
From creation, God, has always had a plan that all mankind would choose Him, but since He is all about freewill and the majority sadly, reprobates, He narrowed it down to one group of people that began with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, also known as the children of Israel. This did not mean that He would never accept other people, or that He would accept all of Israel. It did mean that the entire world was going to know who the Almighty is, and who His people are. Then God narrowed it down a step further when He decided to separate the Levites from the other tribes to serve Him. It was essential that they be not only separated from the rest, they needed be cleansed and offered up to God Himself. However, the very first thing that God instructs Moses to do is light up the tabernacle.
[Numbers 8:2-3,5-6,9-11 Speak unto Aaron, and say unto him, When thou lightest the lamps, the seven lamps shall give light over against the candlestick. 3 And Aaron did so; he lighted the lamps thereof over against the candlestick, as the LORD commanded Moses. 5 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 6 Take the Levites from among the children of Israel, and cleanse them. 9 And thou shalt bring the Levites before the tabernacle of the congregation: and thou shalt gather the whole assembly of the children of Israel together: 10 And thou shalt bring the Levites before the LORD: and the children of Israel shall put their hands upon the Levites: 11 And Aaron shall offer the Levites before the LORD for an offering of the children of Israel, that they may execute the service of the LORD.]
[the seven lamps shall give light over against the candlestick.] The lamps were the very first thing to turn on before the services began, signifying that without the light we cannot serve God. Aaron’s position as the high priest foreshadowed Christ, our High Priest, in that He sends His light to the dark soul of the one who sees Him clearly for who He is, our Saviour, [1 Peter 2:9-10 But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light: 10 Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy.]
There is no amount of work that we could do that God would recognize if we are not saved, it is all iniquity until we come to the knowledge of Christ and accept Him as our Saviour. Now, once the Levites were offered and cleansed, they were able to minister in the services of the tabernacle and assist Aaron and the priests.
[Numbers 8:13-15,19 And thou shalt set the Levites before Aaron, and before his sons, and offer them for an offering unto the LORD. 14 Thus shalt thou separate the Levites from among the children of Israel: and the Levites shall be mine. 15 And after that shall the Levites go in to do the service of the tabernacle of the congregation: and thou shalt cleanse them, and offer them for an offering. 19 And I have given the Levites as a gift to Aaron and to his sons from among the children of Israel, to do the service of the children of Israel in the tabernacle of the congregation, and to make an atonement for the children of Israel: that there be no plague among the children of Israel, when the children of Israel come nigh unto the sanctuary.]
[that there be no plague among the children of Israel,] Do you see why we as Christian, especially those who serve Christ are to remain separated from the world? We are even to separate ourselves from among fellow Christians who are not walking in the same light as we are. Now, I have always understood why God tells us that we are not to be yoked with unbelievers, but since I met my beloved, I truly understand why I never had vision of actually walking down the aisle with any of the other men that I dated.
[2 Corinthians 6:14,16-18 Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? 16 And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 17 Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, 18 And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.]
Speaking of not touching the unclean thing, God, instituted the Passover as day to remember what happened in Egypt when the death angel passed over every house with the blood of a lamb on its doorpost. However, according to the Law, any person who touched dead flesh of any kind was deemed unclean and had to distance themselves from everyone for seven days. While they were observing the Passover, some men became unclean when they buried someone. They went to Moses and asked how they could participate.
[Numbers 9:5-8 And they kept the passover on the fourteenth day of the first month at even in the wilderness of Sinai: according to all that the LORD commanded Moses, so did the children of Israel. 6 And there were certain men, who were defiled by the dead body of a man, that they could not keep the passover on that day: and they came before Moses and before Aaron on that day: 7 And those men said unto him, We are defiled by the dead body of a man: wherefore are we kept back, that we may not offer an offering of the LORD in his appointed season among the children of Israel? 8 And Moses said unto them, Stand still, and I will hear what the LORD will command concerning you.]
[Stand still, and I will hear what the LORD will command] Before we make any judgment call we need to stand still and hear what God has to say about it. Just think about the danger that comes by picking up a live wire, and you pretty much have the same thing with God. Ignorance to hell saves no one, [Acts 17:30-31 And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent: 31 Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead.]
Let me tell you, there is not one servant of Christ that does not go to God and ask Him why they cannot have something when all the rest can have it, at one time or another. And I will give you the perfect example as to what His answer will be every time. I absolutely love bread made with regular white flour, but cannot have it because of the gluten, even if I eat one crumb my entire body becomes dysfunctional for days. When I ask God why I cannot have what everyone else can have, He simply says, “You are different from everyone.” Now, how can you argue with God? It would do you no good because you will lose that battle. And now, God, responds.
[Numbers 9:10,13-14 Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, If any man of you or of your posterity shall be unclean by reason of a dead body, or be in a journey afar off, yet he shall keep the passover unto the LORD. 13 But the man that is clean, and is not in a journey, and forbeareth to keep the passover, even the same soul shall be cut off from among his people: because he brought not the offering of the LORD in his appointed season, that man shall bear his sin. 14 And if a stranger shall sojourn among you, and will keep the passover unto the LORD; according to the ordinance of the passover, and according to the manner thereof, so shall he do: ye shall have one ordinance, both for the stranger, and for him that was born in the land.]
[yet he shall keep the passover unto the LORD.] Do you see what God did here? Anyone who was made unclean due to a legitimate reason was granted a pardon and could participate in the Passover. However, if there was no excuse for you, and you did not observe the Passover you would bear the burden of their own sin. Jesus explains it this way, [Mark 2:16-17 And when the scribes and Pharisees saw him eat with publicans and sinners, they said unto his disciples, How is it that he eateth and drinketh with publicans and sinners? 17 When Jesus heard it, he saith unto them, They that are whole have no need of the physician, but they that are sick: I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.]
[ye shall have one ordinance] This means that the same rule applies to both Jews and Gentiles, as it still does today, only our Passover is Christ, [Romans 2:9-12,16 Tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile; 10 But glory, honour, and peace, to every man that worketh good, to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile: 11 For there is no respect of persons with God. 12 For as many as have sinned without law shall also perish without law: and as many as have sinned in the law shall be judged by the law; 16 In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel.]
When we chose to serve Christ, He has already chosen us first, and by doing so we become one of His servants. And let me tell you, we are not perfect, we are going to mess up and even get ourselves into trouble at times, and yet He is long suffering to get us right back up and moving forward. This is why He does not like us to stay in one spot for a long time. God, was about to send Israel packing on their journey to the promised land, in addition to the pillar that led them, a cloud or fire would appear over the tabernacle.
[Numbers 9:15-18 And on the day that the tabernacle was reared up the cloud covered the tabernacle, namely, the tent of the testimony: and at even there was upon the tabernacle as it were the appearance of fire, until the morning. 16 So it was alway: the cloud covered it by day, and the appearance of fire by night. 17 And when the cloud was taken up from the tabernacle, then after that the children of Israel journeyed: and in the place where the cloud abode, there the children of Israel pitched their tents. 18 At the commandment of the LORD the children of Israel journeyed, and at the commandment of the LORD they pitched: as long as the cloud abode upon the tabernacle they rested in their tents.]
[there the children of Israel pitched their tents.] When the cloud was present they were to set up camp, and stay put, but as soon as it removed itself they needed to pack up immediately and head to wherever the pillar led them. Well, in order to make that pack up go much smoother, God, had some trumpets made specifically for calling the assembly as well as alarm them.
[Numbers 10:2,4,8-10 Make thee two trumpets of silver; of a whole piece shalt thou make them: that thou mayest use them for the calling of the assembly, and for the journeying of the camps. 4 And if they blow but with one trumpet, then the princes, which are heads of the thousands of Israel, shall gather themselves unto thee. 8 And the sons of Aaron, the priests, shall blow with the trumpets; and they shall be to you for an ordinance for ever throughout your generations. 9 And if ye go to war in your land against the enemy that oppresseth you, then ye shall blow an alarm with the trumpets; and ye shall be remembered before the LORD your God, and ye shall be saved from your enemies. 10 Also in the day of your gladness, and in your solemn days, and in the beginnings of your months, ye shall blow with the trumpets over your burnt offerings, and over the sacrifices of your peace offerings; that they may be to you for a memorial before your God: I am the LORD your God.]
[and ye shall be remembered before the LORD your God,] The sounding of the trumpets was heard by God not only when they were blown out of danger and called on Him for help, but over the offerings themselves. Israel, was not the only people following God to their journey to the promised land, there were Egyptians and other Gentiles (strangers), among them was Moses’ father-in-law, he was a Midianite and dwelt with them for a while after he brought his wife and children to him. Hobab, tells Moses that he was going to go back to Midian as they were about to move camp, but Moses encourages him to come with them.
[Numbers 10:29-34 And Moses said unto Hobab, the son of Raguel the Midianite, Moses’ father in law, We are journeying unto the place of which the LORD said, I will give it you: come thou with us, and we will do thee good: for the LORD hath spoken good concerning Israel. 30 And he said unto him, I will not go; but I will depart to mine own land, and to my kindred. 31 And he said, Leave us not, I pray thee; forasmuch as thou knowest how we are to encamp in the wilderness, and thou mayest be to us instead of eyes. 32 And it shall be, if thou go with us, yea, it shall be, that what goodness the LORD shall do unto us, the same will we do unto thee. 33 And they departed from the mount of the LORD three days’ journey: and the ark of the covenant of the LORD went before them in the three days’ journey, to search out a resting place for them. 34 And the cloud of the LORD was upon them by day, when they went out of the camp.]
[and the ark of the covenant of the LORD went before them] The Holy Spirit was their guide on the entire journey, when He walked, they walked, when He stood, they stood. When they were threatened with war, He was their protection and victory, that is, as long as they let Him lead them. Notice that before they traveled, the Ark was carried off ahead of them, in fact, three days before. This is proof that Jesus is three steps ahead of us, leading our path all the way to the promised land. This reminds me of when Jesus came to Lazarus four days after he died, while it appeared that He was late, He was actually right on time.
[John 11:13-15,25-26 Howbeit Jesus spake of his death: but they thought that he had spoken of taking of rest in sleep. 14 Then said Jesus unto them plainly, Lazarus is dead. 15 And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, to the intent ye may believe; nevertheless let us go unto him. 25 Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: 26 And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?]
Today’s Prayer: God, You prove time and time again that there is no stopping Your will, we may get diverted at times, but You always lead us right back to where we are supposed to be. It is not always easy to be set a part for You as we are not allowed to always have cake, nevertheless, what we receive for our faithfulness far outweighs anything we miss out on. Lord, lead us and guide us, give us Your power, wisdom, mercy, grace, and protection to be faithful and honorable, performing at out utmost best, and to encourage all we come in contact with to follow us to the promised land. I ask this in Your name, Jesus. Amen.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
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